This invention relates to end blocks adapted to be disposed along the leading and trailing edges of a kiln car. These blocks are sometimes referred to as end seal blocks. Ceramic and/or refractory goods are usually loaded onto kiln cars and transported by the cars through a kiln to be dried and/or fired. The kilns are generally heated from the top or side and some type of insulating barrier is usually maintained to protect the understructure of the kiln cars. At high temperatures, and especially after repeated runs through a kiln, the heat may cause the wheels, axles, bearings and other portions of the truck and frame assemblies of the cars to deteriorate, warp or otherwise become defective. Additionally, the goods which are transported through the kiln should be dried and/or fired in the presence of uniform heat throughout the different zones within the kiln. If cool drafts from the lower regions of the kiln are allowed to reach the goods, they may be adversely affected, such as by incomplete firing or drying, slumping, cracking, etc.
For these reasons, various refractory materials are usually placed on or associated with the kiln car to prevent the transfer of heat from the top of the kiln to the area beneath the load bearing surface of the kiln car and to prevent the transfer of cold air from beneath the kiln car to the area above its load bearing surface. Various shapes of side blocks have been used to prevent heat or cool air from going down or up the sides of the kiln to the area below or above the load bearing surface of the kiln car. These side blocks are generally disposed very close to the walls of the kiln or in overlapping relation with portions of the kiln wall to prevent heat from reaching the underframe of the car and to prevent the cool air from reaching the goods on the car.
End seal blocks have been used on the leading and trailing ends of kiln cars to provide a heat seal between adjacent cars. For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 4,243,385 of Jeffries, Jr., issued Jan. 6, 1981. The Jeffries, Jr. block has a transverse recess at one end face and a transverse projection at the other end face. A row of end blocks are aligned adjacent the end of one kiln car with the end face having the recess exposed and a row of end blocks are aligned adjacent the edge of another kiln car with the projection extending past the edge of the kiln car. To form a seal between the two kiln cars, the two cars are pushed together so that the projections of the one row of end blocks is disposed within the recess in the row of end blocks of the other car. A resilient refractory material is disposed within the recess so that the projection contacts the refractory material.
Nash U.S. Pat. No. 2,075,863 discloses a refractory wall block having a recess into which a projection of an adjacent block is inserted.
The base layer shown in the Beth U.S. Pat. No. 1,893,123 has a recess into which the projection of an adjacent car is inserted to form a narrow passageway between the two adjacent cars. Morris U.S. Pat. No. 1,824,917 and Barsby U.S. Pat. No. 3,759,661 also disclose end blocks or plates which form a stepped passageway between adjacent cars.
None of these patents discloses an end seal block which is adapted to retain a resilient refractory member bridging between the end blocks of two adjacent kiln cars according to the present invention.